Machine for dressing hides



v,(No Model.)

W EVANS MACHINE FOR DRESSING HIDES, &c.

' No. 525,493. Pafcented'Sept. 4, 1894.

,n INVENTOR /gxtw. my;

UNITED STATES PATENT ()FFICE.

WILLIAM EVANS, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

MACHINE FORIDRESSING HIDES, ate.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 525,493, datedSeptember 4, 1894.

Application filed June 12, 1893. Serial No. 477,259. (No model.)

.To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM EVANS, a citizen of the United States,residing in the city of Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia andState of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin Machines for Dressing Leather, Skins, Hides, &c., of which thefollowing is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in machines for dressing leather,skins, hides, &c.,for putting out, setting out, striking out, scouring,fleshing, skiving, frizzing, unhairing, &c., as may be necessary withinthe meaning of the several terms, which are well known among hide, skinor leather dressers, it being especially designed as an improvement onthe device shown and described in 7 my application for an improvement inleather dressing machines, filed March 11, 1893, in the United StatesPatent Oflice, Serial No. 465,509, and which was allowed to me on May 9,1893, and it consists in certain novel features hereinafter particularlyset forth and claimed, the object being, to produce a more effectivedevice of this character than is now in ordinary use, in that, in thismachine it is designed to dress the skin by one operation, ashereinafter more fully'described, instead of requiring the operator toreadjust the skin, to pass through the machine a second time, tocomplete the dressing, as has heretofore been the case.

The nature and operation of the improvement will be readily understood,by all conversant with such matters, from the following explanation:

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a partial side View of mymachine, of that end on which the knife cylinders are located. Fig. 2,is an end view of my machine, showing the knife cylinders and drivingmechanism for both said knife cylinders and chain wheels. Fig. 3 is aside view of theapron with its movable cover. Fig. 4 is an end view ofthe apron, showing in section the rack into which the star wheel gears.Fig. 5 is across section, through the guide rollers, knife cylinders,setting out cylinder, grip roller and apron, on line a.b. in Fig. 2.

In the drawings, A. A, is the frame work of the machine.

0. 0, C C are the chain wheels, which which enfolds the aprons L. L.

carry the endless chains K., to which are attached the swinging apronsL. L. The swinging aprons are constructed with two rollers, c. and 0'.(see Fig. 3.) The upper roller 0. has its roller surface grooved, (seeFig. 5) so as to get a biting contact with the endless belt 10., Thelower roller 0, is smooth, turning freely with the belt.

The body, d, of the apron (see Figs. 3 and 4) is formed with flatsurfaces, to ofier uniform resistance to the cutting knife cylinders,and is attached to the upper roller, by bearings e. e, and has at thelower end the roller, 0, suspended in bearings f. f. The shaft of theupper roller 0. extends beyond the body of the apron on either side, andis attached to the endless chain,by suitable devices, as shown at 'i.and t". To one end of said shaft of the roller 0. is fixed a star orgear wheel g. which is designed to engage with the rack h. for thepurpose hereinafter described. The belt 70. is carried on the rollers c.and 0' over, and in close contact with, the body 61. of the apron L.

The rack h. is fastened to the frame (see Fig. 2) in such position as toengage with the star or gear wheel g. when the apron, with itssuperposed skin, has reached the lower knife cylinder and before it hasreached the upper knife cylinder, causing said roller to revolve,carrying-with it the superposed skin.

It is apparent, from an inspection of machines of'the class to which mymachine pertains, and is a fact known to the trade, that when the apronwith its superposed skin or hide has passed upward between the revolvingknife cylinders, that portion of the skin or hide which is upon the topof the apron is left undressed, and the operator is obliged to replacethe skin or hide on the apron and to pass it a second time through theknives, for the purpose of completing the dressing. In my machine ashere constructed, when the apron with its superposed skin has reachedthe revolving knife cylinder M, the star or gear wheel g. engages withthe rack h. caus ing the encircling band k. of the apron L. to becarried, with its superposed skin, by the revolving corrugated roller0., over from the top of the roller L., bringing the untouched portionof the skin in position to be acted upon by the knife cylinder M., andleaving on the top of said apron aportion of the skin or hide which hasbeen dressed by the-revolving knife cylinder M, and bringing intocontact with the revolving knife cylinder M. the remaining portion ofthe skin to be dressed, thus finishing the skin with one operation orpassage through the machine.

B. and B are steadying rollers.

M. and M are knife cylinders.

The cylinder N. can be used either as a cutting or setting out cylinder.I prefer to use a setting out cylinder, as the cutting can all be doneby the knife cylinders M. and M.

O. is a spirally fluted grip roller, to hold the skin while it is beingdressed by the knife cylinder M.

R. and S. are band wheels, which drive the knife cylinders M. and M.

T. is a band Wheel, which drives the shaft 171., which carries the spursn. and n, which engage with the gear wheels 0. and 0. imparting motionto the endless chains.

0". is a gear wheel, engaging with the gear t. on the knife cylinder M,thus causing the grip roller to revolve in a direction opposite to thatof the knife cylinder M. The knife cylinder M. and the cutting orsetting out cylinder N. areso geared, by the use of an intermediate gearwheel, that they revolve in the same direction the one with the other.

The operation of my machine is as follows :The necessary motion havingbeen imparted to the machine by the mechanism described, the apron withits superposed skin is carried forward on an endless chain and upwardbetween the guide roller Band B, and brought in contact with therevolving knife cylinder M and the cutting or setting out cylinder N atthe same time the star or gear wheel g. engages with the rack 72.,imparting motion to the corrugated roller 0., to the apron belt or coverla, bringing that portion of the skin which has not been acted upon bythe knife cylinder M in such position that it will be acted upon by theknife cylinder M. By this time the apron is brought in contact with theknife cylinder M., and thence is carried, by the endless chains, upwardbetween said knife cylinder M. and grip roller 0., and returned to theoperator in a finished condition.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is-

1. The herein described apron, designed to be attached to a suitablecarrying device of a machine for dressing hides, skins, leather, &c.;said apron consisting of a body composed of any suitable material, acorrugated upper roller, the shaft of which extends beyond said body toenable it to be attached to a proper carrying device, a star or gearwheel affixed to one end of said shaft, adapted to engage with a rackfixed to the frame of the machine, a lower roller, and a coveringcarried on said rollers over and in close contact with the body of theapron; substantially as described.

2. In a machine for dressing hides, skins, leather, &c., the combinationof two revolving knife cylinders M. and M, the grip roller 0., thecylinder N., the apron L., the star wheel g., the rack 71., withsuitable mechanism for causing said apron to be carried forward andupward between said cylinder N. and the knife cylinder M and between thegrip roller 0. and the knife cylinder M., and also for causing said starwheel to engage with the said rack; substantially as described.

WILLIAM EVANS. Witnesses:

A. P. DOUGLASS, THOMAS D. SIMPSON.

